Author: Western Horse Watchers

East Pershing Roundup, Day 15

The incident began on December 28.  Results through January 11:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

Helicopters did not fly on Days 14 and 15.

A stallion was released on Day 15.  No details were given.

Two stallions were dispatched on Day 15 due to leg injuries.

The death rate is 1.1%.

The capture total includes 480 stallions, 538 mares and 121 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 532 mares captured.

Youngsters represented 10.6% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of five to six percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

East Pershing Complex with Allotments 12-30-23

Day 15 ended with eight unaccounted-for animals.

There are no plans to treat any of the captured mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 13,632 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 11,360 gallons per day
  • Horses allowed by plan: 555
  • Pre-gather population: 3,375
  • Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
  • Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
  • True AML: Not determined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
  • Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 13.

Foal-Free Friday, Selling Poison as Conservation Edition

In a news flash dated January 7, the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses described the Virginia Range darting program as conservation.

Adjectives used in the blurb: Innocent, Majestic, Iconic.

Zonastat Ingredients 12-20-23

Are they pandering to nitwits?

What will happen to the herd when the mares are sterile?

Why not classify motorized removal as conservation?

The darting program violates federal law but it’s not listed among their legal battles.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Go Forth but Don’t Multiply Edition.

Adjectives for Equine Pests 01-03-24

How Many Wild Burros Can the Canyonlands HMA Support?

The HMA covers 89,392 total acres, including 77,311 public acres, and the 100 burros allowed by plan receive 600 AUMs per year.

The stocking rate allowed by plan is 1.3 wild burros per thousand public acres.

Table 3.1 in the Final EA for pest control and resource enforcement indicates 34% of the Robbers Roost Allotment overlaps the HMA.

The National Data Viewer shows the arrangement.  Click on image to open in new tab.

The allotment offers 3,840 active AUMs on 159,786 public acres.

Therefore, the bureaucrats have taken 3,840 × .34 = 1,305 AUMs per year from the burros and given them to the permittee, assuming the resource is evenly distributed across the parcel.

The number of burros displaced from the HMA by permitted grazing is 1,305 ÷ 6 = 217.

The True AML would be 100 + 217 = 317, the number of burros the HMA could sustain if it was managed principally for them as specified in the original statute.

Table 2.1 puts the current population at 168, about half of the carrying capacity.

The stocking rate at the new AML would be 317 ÷ 77,311 × 1,000 = 4.1 wild burros per thousand public acres, equivalent to two wild horses per thousand acres, to be achieved by confining the rancher to his base property in a year-round off season.

RELATED: BLM Publishes Canyonlands Final Planning Documents.

Canyonlands HMA with Allotments 01-10-24

BLM Publishes Canyonlands Final Planning Documents

The Decision Record authorizes Alternative 1, the Proposed Action, with modifications, effective immediately for a ten-year period.

The Proposed Action, discussed in Section 2.2.1 of the Final EA, features gathers and removals of excess burros in and around the HMA, controlling population growth with PZP, GonaCon Equine or IUDs and possibly equipping burros with GPS tracking units.

The BLM will also collect samples to assess genetic diversity.

Animals from other areas could be introduced to the HMA, a tactic that boosts genetic diversity while keeping herd sizes small.

The decision limits the use of fertility control pesticides to a maximum of 10 jennies, after results from genetic testing have been received.  IUDs will not be used at this time but could be considered in the future if an appropriately sized device is developed.

A roundup appears in the December 8 schedule with a start date of February 23.

The news release did not include a link to the project in ePlanning.

Approximately 70% of the HMA is subject to permitted grazing.

RELATED: Canyonlands EA Out for Review.

Canyonlands HMA with Allotments 01-10-24

The Advocates Have Trained Their Followers Well

Brainwashed might be a better word.

Consider this letter to the editor of the Las Vegas Sun dated January 10.

The writer builds a case in support of the hoses, defending them against the livestock industry, then refutes her argument in the last paragraph with a recommendation for humane methods of population control.

Better Way 10-25-23

Beat their numbers down with ovary-killing pesticides.  Let the ranchers have most of their food and water.

Hey Western Horse Watchers, she didn’t say anything about pesticides.

Correct.  The advocates have their own vocabulary, consisting mostly of euphemisms and adjectives that conceal their true intentions and loyalties.

Why not ask for an increase in grazing fees, bringing them in line with market rates?

Why not ask for a year-round off-season, restricting the ranchers to their (multi-million-dollar) base properties?

Why not insist that areas identified for wild horses be managed principally for them?

RELATED: Understanding Advocatespeak.

Adjectives for Equine Pests 01-03-24

East Pershing Roundup, Day 13

The incident began on December 28.  Results through January 9:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The trap site was moved back to the North Stillwater HMA on Day 13.

Previously, trapping occurred in the Humboldt HA where 122 horses were caught, an area unfit for them, supposedly.

Two stallions were released (escaped?) on Day 13.

The death rate is 1.0%.

The capture total includes 480 stallions, 538 mares and 121 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 532 mares captured.

Youngsters represented 10.6% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of five to six percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.2% were male and 52.8% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 on Days 12 and 13.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

East Pershing Complex with Allotments 12-30-23

Day 13 ended with 201 unaccounted-for animals.

There are no plans to treat any of the captured mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 13,644 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 11,370 gallons per day
  • Horses allowed by plan: 555
  • Pre-gather population: 3,375
  • Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
  • Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
  • True AML: Not determined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
  • Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 11.

Advocates Bawling about Loss of East Pershing Foal?

The incident occurred on January 6, Day 10 of the roundup, and was covered by two news outlets:

Both stories include remarks from the advocates.

Don’t fall for this.  They hate foals!

They cover these events and issue their press releases to keep their base fired up and the donations rolling in.

Donate 08-17-23

What about privately owned calves and lambs?  No problem!

There is an inverse correlation here: The more foals they eliminate the more calves and lambs can take their place.

A sign that they’re getting closer to achieving and maintaining AMLs is that the need for voluntary non-use diminishes then disappears.

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 11.

Pancake Gather Plan

Wild Horse Advocacy in One Word

FAILURE.  In four words: Collaboration with the enemy.

Symptoms:

  • Habitat loss
  • Resource mismanagement
  • Roundups
  • Adoption incentive program
  • Sale with or without limitations
  • Off-range holding
  • Sanctuaries
  • Darting programs
  • Mass training

These are signs of victory if you’re a public-lands rancher.

This year may see more horses in off-range holding than on the range, another sign of failure—or success if you’re a rancher.

RELATED: How to Bring the Advocates to Their Knees.

Working Together for a Horse-Free Future 12-21-22

Virginia Range Darting Update for December 2023

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses indicated in the December report that 123 mares received 125 doses of Zonastat-H during the month, 20 given as a primer and 105 as a booster.

Over the life of the program, which began in 2019, the advocates have pumped 8,527 doses of the ovary-killing pesticide into 1,989 mares.

Of the 176 foals born during the year in the primary target zone, 100 died, yielding a 43% chance of survival.

The current population is thought to be 3,471 with 336 horses listed as missing, compared to 3,479 with 350 listed as missing in November.

A goal for January is to “Continue to maximize booster treatments to mares across the Virginia Range before spring breeding season to prevent pregnancies, and continuing to allow for population decrease.”

Protect Wild Horses from Advocates 08-29-21

Not discussed in the report:

  • Long-term population goal
  • Size of breeding population
  • Loss of genetic diversity
  • Herd demographics
  • Changes in death rates as herd ages

The program is now in its fifth year and many of the mares are at risk of sterility.

We Can Do What Helicopters Can't 12-27-23

The report will be submitted to the Nevada Department of Agriculture.

The Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses is a leader in nonmotorized removal.

RELATED: Virginia Range Darting Update for November 2023.

Pesticides R Us Better Way 11-07-23

CAAWH Upset with East Pershing Roundup, Envies Contractor?

In a January 7 article by the Las Vegas Sun, Suzanne Roy, ringleader of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses, said “These practices should be relegated to the past where they belong and should be replaced by modern, humane conservation practices that keep wild horses wild.”

Refer to the decoder for the meaning of this statement.  Roy lumps several concepts together in one sentence.

Getting Rid of Wild Horses Is Our Job 10-14-23

Like most advocates, she wants the roundups to stop but not the removals.

She wants helicopters replaced with pesticides.

Zonastat Ingredients 12-20-23

She doesn’t tell the reporter why roundups occur.

She doesn’t discuss habitat loss and the difference between HAs and HMAs.

She doesn’t comment on the prevalence of livestock and the mismanagement of resources in the lawful home of wild horses.

In short, Roy and her staff want the ranchers to prevail and they want to be active participants in their victory.

RELATED: CAAWH Now an Appendage of BLM, Wants Ranchers to Win.

East Pershing Roundup, Day 11

The incident began on December 28.  Results through January 7:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

The trap site was moved to the Humboldt HA on Day 11.

A stallion was dispatched on Day 10 due to blindness in one eye.  A colt was put down due to injuries sustained in capture.

The death rate is 1.2%.

The capture total includes 408 stallions, 447 mares and 85 foals.  The sidebar at the gather page says 441 mares captured.

Youngsters represented 9.0% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of four percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.7% were male and 52.3% were female, no evidence of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 2.5 to 3.5 on Days 10 and 11.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

East Pershing Complex with Allotments 12-30-23

Day 11 ended with 88 unaccounted-for animals.

There are no plans to treat any of the captured mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 11,280 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 9,400 gallons per day
  • Horses allowed by plan: 555
  • Pre-gather population: 3,375
  • Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
  • Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
  • True AML: Not determined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
  • Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 9.

Understanding Advocatespeak

Provided as a public service.

What They SayWhat They Mean
Cherished/beloved/innocent/majestic wild horsesPests
Fertility control vaccineOvary-killing pesticide
Humane managementNonmotorized removal
Mares living longerAbnormal sex ratio
Stay wildStay barren
Self-boostingSterile
Keeping them in balance with their environmentWe want the ranchers to win
Protecting them from removalGetting rid of them with PZP
ConservationEradication
Better wayPummel mares with pesticide-laced darts

RELATED: How to Bring the Advocates to Their Knees.

Goicoechea’s Focus on Virginia Range Not About Public Safety

In the January 4 article by SFGATE about horse-car collisions near Reno, Nevada Department of Agriculture Director J.J. Goicoechea put the carrying capacity of the Virginia Range at 500 to 600 wild horses, even though it’s been supporting around 3,000 for years.

At roughly 300,000 acres, the stocking rate is ten wild horses per thousand acres.

That’s what the bureaucrats don’t like about it.  The area defies their carrying capacity narrative, namely, that western rangelands can only support one wild horse per thousand acres (27,000 animals on 27 million acres).

They repeat the lie to conceal their mismanagement of said rangelands: For every AUM assigned to wild horses, livestock receive three to five.

Let’s take a look at Goicoechea’s home range, the Newark Allotment.  It’s a few miles east of Eureka, NV and overlaps the Triple B and Pancake HMAs.

The National Data Viewer shows the arrangement.  Click on image to open in new tab.

Goicoechea receives a very modest 158 AUMs per year, a symbolic gesture that gins up support of the public-lands ranchers.

But the allotment offers 9,867 AUMs per year on 218,105 acres, or 45.2 AUMs per thousand acres, equivalent to 3.8 wild horses per thousand acres.

That’s almost four times higher than the carrying capacity lie!

The NDV does not show pastures within the allotment but given that it’s surrounded by HMAs, Goicoechea’s financial interests are likely affected.

In the old days we called that a conflict of interest.

RELATED: NDA Program to Reduce Horse-Car Collisions on Virginia Range?

Newark Allotment with HMAs 01-06-24

Pesticide Pushers Concerned about Alpine Wild Horses?

Both parties in this story by ABC 15 News of Phoenix, the Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group and the Forest Service, are unsavory.

There are no heroes in the wild horse world, only sellouts.  Get over it.

Let Us Fix Your Wild Horse Problem 02-18-23

The three tenets of rangeland management also apply to the Forest Service.

The Salt River Wild Horse Darting Group is an affiliate of the Campaign Against America’s Wild Horses.

RELATED: Alpine Horses Wild or Feral?

East Pershing Roundup, Day 9

The incident began on December 28.  Results through January 5:

The figures above are based on the daily reports, not the totals posted by the BLM.

Helicopters did not fly on Day 9.  No explanation was given.

A stallion was dispatched on Day 8 due to a previous leg injury.

The death rate is 1.1%.

The capture total includes 363 stallions, 405 mares and 70 foals.

Youngsters represented 8.4% of the animals gathered, consistent with a herd growth rate of three percent per year.

Of the adults, 47.3% were male and 52.7% were female, no indication of an abnormal sex ratio.

Body condition scores ranged from 2 to 4 on Day 8.

The location of the trap site was not given.

The Complex is managed primarily for animal agriculture.  The National Data Viewer shows habitat loss and grazing allotments.  Click on image to open in new tab.

*According to advocates.

East Pershing Complex with Allotments 12-30-23

Day 9 ended with 26 unaccounted-for animals.

There are no plans to treat any of the captured mares with fertility control pesticides and return them to the range.

Other statistics:

  • Forage liberated to date: 10,056 AUMs per year
  • Water liberated to date: 8,380 gallons per day
  • Horses allowed by plan: 555
  • Pre-gather population: 3,375
  • Forage assigned to horses: 6,660 AUMs per year
  • Forage assigned to livestock: Not determined
  • Horses displaced from Complex by permitted grazing: Not determined
  • True AML: Not determined
  • Stocking rate at new AML: Not determined
  • Horses displaced by drilling and mining: Ask the advocates

Overpopulation means more horses than allowed by plan, not necessarily more horses than the land can support.

The ability of the Complex to sustain wild horses has been limited by the bureaucrats, who have assigned most of their food to the public-lands ranchers.

Refer to these reports for an indication of the problem:

RELATED: East Pershing Roundup, Day 7.

Foal-Free Friday, Go Forth but Don’t Multiply Edition

That’s what the advocates mean by “keeping them wild and free.”

The mares are barren, the herd is shrinking, and the ranchers are winning, but there have been no motorized removals, so the program is a success.

Protecting Them From Removal 12-03-23

Meanwhile, hundreds of cow/calf pairs have been turned loose in the same HMA to consume 80% of the authorized forage.

Good work, guys.

RELATED: Foal-Free Friday, Truth or Consequences Edition.

AML-1